Super Bad, Super Badger

Description The Vulfix 376 Super is classic English style in a slightly larger than average size. Filled with Super badger, this brush feels great on the face.

Color: Faux Ivory
Total Height: 105mm
Bristle Loft: 53mm
Knot Dia: 24mm
Hair: Super Badger

Customer Reviews:

Very nice brush, no bad smell , has not lost one hair.I use Wool Fat soap this soft brush makes a very thick and creamy lather, much more so than a pure badger. I have been using a brush for 40+ yrs I believe this is the best ever.Very well made great quality.

Reviewed by: Robert from Cleveland TX. on 7/16/2012

“Proponents of wet shaving claim that badger hair is the finest and most luxurious material possible.The water retention capacity, smooth sensation on the face, and durability are unmatched by other synthetic or natural materials. Although there is not an industry standard that specifically defines grades of badger hair, there are basic classifications that many manufacturers use to describe the quality of hair used in their brushes.The most common gradations of badger hair are “pure” badger, “best” badger, and “super” or “silvertip” badger. While some companies insist on using other gradations (for example, Vulfix’s high-end brushes distinguish between “super” and “silvertip”), these three are commonly accepted among wet shaversand are most often used to describe the quality of a shave brush.

Pure Badger

Pure badger is the term used to describe badger hair brushes using the most common hair from the underbelly of a badger, the hair which covers around 60% of a badger’s body. This hair varies greatly in softness, pliability and color. Pure badger hair is usually dark in color, but fluctuates from a light tan to a near-black or silvery sheen. The hair is coarser than ‘best’ or ‘silvertip’ hair due to its larger shaft. Brushes made exclusively with pure badger hair cost significantly less than finer badger hair. Most often, pure badger brush hairs are trimmed to shape, resulting in somewhat stiff, rough ends.

Best Badger

Best badger is the term used to describe brushes made with the finer and more pliable hairs from 20 — 25% of the badger’s body. It is longer in length and lighter in color than ‘pure’ badger hair. A ‘best’ badger brush is more densely filled with hair than the ‘pure’ badger brush and will produce a correspondingly greater lather. However, some wet shavers argue that the variance between the quality of a ‘pure’ and a ‘best’ badger brush is negligible. Best badger and better quality brush hairs are often fit so that the ends do not have to be cut to shape.

Super Badger

A super badger brush is a more expensive than either ‘best’ or ‘pure’. While some call this hair ‘silvertip’, it is often highly graded ‘pure’ hair bleached on the ends to resemble silvertip.

Though it is composed of ‘pure’ badger hairs, ‘super’ is graded and sorted to such a degree that its performance is superior to that of ‘best’. The brush is not prickly.

One way to determine if a brush bears a ‘super’ or ‘silvertip’ badger hair load is to look at the color of the bristle tips. A true ‘silvertip’ brush has tips that are an off-white. A ‘super’ brush on the other hand has bristle tips that are a more sterile, slightly greyed white; moreover, the light color of the tips does not extend as far down the shaft of the hair.

Silvertip Badger

Silvertip badger is the most expensive and rare type of badger hair. The tips on this hair appear white naturally, without bleaching. A “flared” bristle load gives results in the ‘silvertip’ brush’s fluffy appearance and lends the brush its ability to hold a large amount of water. Due to its water retention capacity, a ‘silvertip’ brush can create well-formed shaving lather quickly and easily.

Some manufacturers such as Plisson, Simpsons and Rooney sell shaving brushes in a grade beyond silvertip. While the names these companies give this ‘extra silvertip’ vary, the properties remain fairly consistent between manufacturers as compared to the ‘ordinary silvertip’ brush. These brushes differ in appearance (the tip is whiter and extends further down the shaft; additionally, the hair under the tip is pure black as opposed to dark grey in color) and feel (the extra silvertip feels slightly firmer and less “prickly” on the face when lathering).

Brushes made of ‘extra silvertip’ with a high-quality handle can sell for over $1000.” (Wikipedia)

Product courtesy of West Coast Shaving-buy it here.

Return to our homepage to learn about men’s custom dress shirts.

–Jay

P.S. Shave, don’t go for that “bad boy” look, rid it with super badger.

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Categories:Grooming

Tags: deo veritas grooming, vulfix super badger, west coast shaving